British BBQ Society Forums

Hiya guys, my smoker is holding at 215 but my pork shoulder stalled at 177 then started dropping. Its down to 170 now, is this normal, should I be concerned?

Yes, the meat temp. will sometimes rise and fall during the stall period. I recommend foiling after the meat hits 160 to get the meat done sooner.

Benny

Thanks!
I've never seen it drop like that before but is back upto 185 and raising

Views vary on what to do during the stall. Many will say foil, I prefer to let it climb through it naturally then foil. My theory is that the longer the stall the better the end product. Try different methods and see which one works best for you though.

I left it alone as I think a wrap will also soften the bark, its just about to hit 196 so good times

Good Times = Good Eating

are your vents open enough to allow oxygen in? not enough o2 will result in decrease of temperature

The brisket I did last weekend was in the stall for about 90 minutes. I needed to have it ready to take to a Jubilee party so I foiled it with some of the juices and pushed the temp up to about 320. It quickly climbed from there - I pulled it off the smoker at 201F, wrapped with extra foil, and placed it in a Coleman along with newspaper, towels, fire bricks and the other meats I had already foiled. Oh, and I poured a kettle of boiling water on the towels for good measure.

Meat was served about 3 hours later and it was the best brisket I have cooked so far.